SWIHA Blog

Mark Flory thought he had it all -- family, job, house, and lots of friends. Then at age 44, things started to change. “I guess you can say I had a mid-life crisis of identity. At the time of my decision to go to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), I had just sold a business that I thought was going to be my retirement plan.” Mark was feeling like a failure and that he let his family down.

To top it off, Mark applied and interviewed with a company for a position that seemed like it was written specifically for him. After several interviews and feeling really good about getting the new job, he met with the owner and president. Remembering the shock and disbelief, Mark shared that he bombed the interview and didn’t get the job.

Mark now realizes that he was having a spiritual awakening. “My intuitive abilities had been activated and I was starting to awaken to the possibilities of helping people with these new found gifts. During this process, however, many things came up for me that challenged everything that I was. It is never easy to one day say to your friends, ‘Oh by the way, I see dead people and can read your energy.’ Most of them thought I was crazy and really didn’t want to associate with me anymore. Because of this, I isolated myself and I started to question who I was and what I was really put on this earth to do. There is nothing like being 44 years old and not knowing who you are anymore.”

Mark confided with us, that he had spent most of his adult life fighting the idea that he would never be successful unless, and until, he got a college degree. This was all feeding into his fears and the only way he could think to help legitimize himself, was by getting a degree in the field that he was now helping people with. The idea of lending credibility to this work was what led him to SWIHA. Mark graduated from the Mind Body Transformational Psychology degree program in April 2015.

When asked about what Mark felt was the most valuable, in regards to his SWIHA education he replied, “I can honestly say that there isn’t one thing that was more valuable than another. All the information I received from SWIHA was amazing. I really enjoyed the class (Awakening the Heroes Within) that incorporated the works of Joseph Campbell. Finding Joe, a movie used in class, definitely opened me up to the fears that each of us face and need to get past, so that we can live the life we are meant to live.”

Mark actually considers himself lucky that he discovered his passion. “This was easy for me because of what was happening directly in my life. I was lost personally and I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted. When my intuitive abilities emerged, I knew that I could use these types of gifts to help people find clarity in their lives.”

Mark believes we are in a time of transition on this planet. “The old way of doing things is not keeping up with the new, and we are subconsciously fighting the new and the old at the same time. This is why so many people are feeling lost in today’s world. We know something is different and that energies are changing, yet we don’t know how to balance between the old energy and the new energy. I want to be a guide or mentor to those that are trying to find their way and help them adjust to the new by providing guidance and information. It is never fun going through this by yourself, so if people know they are not alone it can be so beneficial for them.” Mark knows from experience that helping people understand that they are not alone and they have a resource to turn to, can help them get through this transition faster and easier.

After personally going through what Mark called ‘the dark night of the soul,’ he developed a compassion for those going through a similar event in their own lives. He feels so fortunate that he was inspired to follow the little nudges that his intuition and higher self were giving him, so he could follow this new found passion and return to school to get the credentials needed to help as many people as he could. “My goal is just that: to help as many people as I can, so that they can get through their own dark night of the soul.”

Once that was decided, he went into business for himself. “My business name is just me, Mark Flory. However, I do have a program called Re-Discover You, which helps people who are experiencing their own dark night of the soul, rediscover themselves and helps get them back on track to a happier way of life.”

When he sold his traditional business, lost his ideal job interview and many close friends in his life, as well as taking criticism from a lot of people who he thought had his back, he was crushed. “I mean, I completely lost myself. During this dark time the ultimate question kept creeping into my consciousness, ‘Who Am I?’ You see, most of the time our identity is associated with what you do for a living, who you are married to, or how much money you make. However, what people don’t realize is that it is not who you are; those are all external descriptions. What we need to know is who we are on the inside. What we need is a strong foundation based on our core values and beliefs, so when the dark night reappears we are able to get through it much more quickly because we understand ourselves at the core.”

Right now, Mark is in Boise, Idaho and has two ways of seeing clients. If they are local, he will see them face to face at his office. If they live outside they area, then he works with them via Skype or on the phone. “I am currently working on an online course for the Rediscover You Program which will allow the client to work at their own pace after listening to a presentation on the chapter they are working through. I hope to have that available by the end of the year or sooner.”

Mark has an array of services that he offers including Intuitive sessions, Numerology Charts, and his signature program entitled Re-Discover YOU.

Full Program: 8 weeks for $997. (8 weekly sessions over 2 months). I walk you, step by step, through the program and give you immediate feedback on what you uncover about yourself.

Individual Re-Discover YOU sessions: $125 per session. Sometimes my clients choose to go through the program on their own and don't need any feedback or guidance from me. And then there are times when something doesn't make sense or they get stuck on a section and do need some guidance. This is where I offer individual sessions to help work you through those sections.

Mark’s clientele varies widely. He thinks everyone needs to have a little bit of clarity in their life at some point. The intuitive clients he has worked with include high school students, struggling musicians, widowers, people who are experiencing relationship issues, and many more. The clients who come to his Re-Discover You program are mostly people who are going through that dark night of the soul phase in their life, clients that have lost a job, gotten a divorce, lost a loved one from death, or anyone who is feeling lost in life.

The experience each client receives from Mark is determined by which service they choose. “If they come to me for an intuitive reading they will gain clarity to their situations from my intuitive gifts. I will have them think of three questions that they need clarity on, as this will help focus their energy. I sit with them in my condo office and during the reading, images, phrases, and information will come to me from my guides and their guides. I present this information to them as areas they might not have thought of or coming from, what I call, ‘the blind spots’. These blind spots are areas that are just outside the peripheral which they can’t see.”

Mark helps bring new ideas and solutions to the problem that they can’t quite see. He says it is a really fun experience for his clients and he gets a lot of repeat clients. In the Re-Discover You program, he uses his Life Coaching education that he received from SWIHA, along with his own program that he created. The program came about through Mark’s own dark night of the soul experience and it lays the foundation for anyone to remember who they are from the inside. At the end of the program, clients feel less stressed, have more confidence, and are able to easily make decisions in any area of their life. The reason is because they know who they are at the core and knowing that is like having the key to everything.

Here are a few testimonials from some of Mark’s current clients:

“I have this overwhelming sense of calmness after I meet with you! I showed up feeling scattered, overwhelmed, and in a state of self-induced chaos. I walked out of our session ecstatic, optimistic, and quite frankly giddy for what lies ahead for me in 2016! You truly have a gift and I can't even begin to describe how fortunate I feel to have been on the receiving end of that gift. Thank you so much for seeing me.”

Morgan Hoffman

- Real Estate Agent Silvercreek Realty, Boise, Idaho

“Just thinking of you and reflecting on what a crazy year it has been for me. I wanted you to know how much you've influenced me to reevaluate myself, my boundaries, the relationships in my life, and how to approach situations differently. I did a lot of reflecting and I'm confident 2016 will be one of my best years yet. This last year, I have grown so much, thanks to you. You are amazing and I appreciate you.”

Andrea Stromberg

- Boise, Idaho

At the moment, most of Mark’s clients come to him off of a referral from someone who has already worked with him. “Word of mouth marketing is highly effective because I have a built in testimonial from a person I have already worked with. I have just started a new marketing campaign using Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (coming soon!). I am also blogging articles on issues that are related to the things I can do. Life Coaching, Hypnotherapy, and most recently the articles revolve around values, defining moments, goal setting, and more. I find that this generates traffic to my site and hopefully when people read the article, they want to know more about what I do.”

Mark is considering enrolling in SWIHA’s Holistic Nutrition certification because he has realized that it would certainly compliment his Re-Discover You program. “It would open up a whole new clientele and I can help people discover happiness again through losing weight and proper nutrition. Not to mention that I love to cook, and more knowledge in cooking is always a good thing.”

Mark is no stranger to being a small business owner and even calls himself a serial entrepreneur. He has started businesses in real estate, appraisals, property management, payment processing software for government entities, and a few others. The easy part for him was coming up with the actual business concept. The hard part was implementing the business and getting it off the ground monetarily so that he could support himself and his family. “If I can give a few words of advice to those new graduates it would be this: ‘Don’t try and have the perfect business right out of the gate.’ What I mean is, that some people spend all their time trying to create the perfect business that it actually becomes their business and they soon fail because they run out of money. GET STARTED! This is the only way you can truly know if your business is viable. Learn to adapt along the way, as well, because you can’t see all the holes in your business until you actually experience the holes. I love failing at business because it makes me stronger with the next venture. Just remember that every time you fail you are that much closer to the success.”

Mark also wants to encourage new graduates to discover their “why”. He believes that whenever we attempt something new, we should have to have our “why” in place, or we are sure to miss the mark. “Many people make resolutions each New Year, only to fail a few months after making them. The reason is they don’t have their “why” in place, behind the resolution. For example, many people want to lose weight, yet most don’t know why. They only know they want to lose weight. If they have a why behind them like, I need to lose weight for my upcoming reunion or my siblings wedding then you have a good reason to stick with it.” Same thing goes with new graduates, “Make sure you know why you are doing what you are doing and you are sure to succeed.”

Mark has discovered that it is very empowering to have the credentials he earned behind him. He honestly admits that he struggled for years with his own self-image because he didn’t have a college degree. Now that he does, he can move forward in life with more confidence. “I really appreciate what SWIHA has done for me. The courses offered are not your typical college courses. They are actually ones that are relevant to the work I am doing. I cannot express to anyone enough, how awesome it is to have a school that actually teaches the things I can put into practice in real life. I often refer back to the books and course materials when I need information to share with either my clients or the people who visit my website.”

Mark truly feels that the biggest thing he has taken away from his education is finally completing something that he started. “It was not easy to do and there were many obstacles that I was able to overcome, yet in the end, I am a proud graduate of SWIHA. This process allows me to move forward with any venture, knowing that I can complete the task without the assistance of others. It is a very liberating feeling to finally know I can do it on my own.”

You can connect with Mark on his website:

About the Author, Kerry Burki

~ SWIHA Success Center Blogger

Kerry Burki is Editor of the newly launched KERRY Magazine ~ a magazine that uses real women as models, supports small businesses, encourages you to feel beautiful as you are right now and even has a printable worksheet to help you go after your dreams! She been teaching yoga since 2004, currently teaches yoga + meditation at a local assisted-living facility near her home in Scottsdale, Arizona. Kerry has written two ebooks about self-care (one for everyday and one for creatives) and she has just joined the SWIHA Success Center Team part-time as a blogger, consultant and creator!

About the Author Kerry Burki

Kerry Burki is Editor of the newly launched KERRY Magazine ~ a magazine that uses real women as models, supports small businesses, encourages you to feel beautiful as you are right now and even has a printable worksheet to help you go after your dreams! She been teaching yoga since 2004, currently teaches yoga + meditation at a local assisted-living facility near her home in Scottsdale, Arizona. Kerry has written two ebooks about self-care (one for everyday and one for creatives) and she has just joined the SWIHA Success Center Team part-time as a blogger, consultant and creator!